Norwegian authorities are investigating the motive of a shooter who opened fire during an annual LGBTQ Pride festival in Oslo.

At least two people were killed and over 20 others injured.

What You Need To Know

  •  Two people were killed and 20 injured in a shooting at a  LGBTQ Pride festival in Oslo

  • An Orlando resident visiting the country was just yards away from that attack in Norway

  • A suspect is being held on suspicion of murder

An Orlando resident visiting the country was just yards away from that attack in Norway.

"My mind immediately went to Pulse. That was the obvious comparison," said John Patterson.

Patterson is a lifelong native of Orlando, but over the last week, he's been vacationing in Norway. He was running a marathon and taking some time to himself to enjoy the country.

"When I realized Oslo pride was going on this weekend, it was just a no-brainer that I had to come to Oslo for this," explained Patterson.

He didn't expect to be caught in the middle of an attack in the country's most prominent gay bar.

Patterson says he knew something was wrong around 1:15 a.m. He didn't hear any gunshots over the loud music, but a large crowd was rushing towards the exit.

"When I got up the street level, I was basically in the middle of what had happened," he described. "There was no violence going on when I came outside. However, there was broken glass everywhere and a number of people very obviously injured on the ground with other people leaning over them. I could hear police sirens and ambulance sirens, and emergency personnel were running around, so I just got out of there."

Norwegian police are investigating the shooting as a possible terrorist attack and have identified the shooter as a 42-year-old Norwegian citizen originally from Iran.

They say he fired his weapon at three locations just hours before a parade was set to begin.

The suspect is being held on suspicion of murder, and police say he has a long history of violence, threats, and mental health issues.

"It kind of shakes me up a little bit," said Patterson when discussing how close he was to the shooting.

Several memorials have already gone up to honor those who lost their lives.

The Pride parade set to be held in Oslo was canceled in response to the shooting.

Patterson says acts of hate like this shooting won't dim the pride he and others feel daily.

As he walked around the city Saturday morning, he had the chance to witness people gathering together to support each other and celebrate who they are.

"When you're faced with hate and evil, you have two choices. You can run and hide, or you can stand up to it and say no, I'm not going to be afraid of you. I'm going to live my life, and the gay community time and time again has said we are not going to be afraid we are going to live our lives."